TBF 035 :: Farmers' Market Thoughts, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

It is the time of year when I feel like I can breathe a big sigh of relief. There is still plenty to do and I don't feel like there will be any less going on in our family life or our farm life, but it does feel like we can at least check one thing off the list ... Outdoor Farmers' Market Season is done! I wanted to take a little bit of time today sharing some of my thoughts on this past market season, which was our best by far, and what some of the good things and the bad things were. There are always things that I would like to do better and while I feel confident in the workflow of making transactions with customers I do wish I had a more visually appealing display to draw in potential customers. I also spend some time talking about the importance of having diverse products at the market in order to reach as many customers as possible, and of course how thankful I am for all of our farm friends that support us week and and week out during the market season!

I also spend a little bit of time talking about an interesting quote that I stumbled across from Joel Salatin this past week which interestingly enough fits perfectly into a discussion about farmers' markets. The basic takeaway from Mr. Salatin's comments was that you would be better off spending time marketing in other places than spending your Saturdays tied up at a market. While I will say that not all markets are created equal and I do think we have the best market out there for farmers and for customers I will also concede that I don't completely disagree with what he says. If you would like to listen to the whole interview and specifically his thoughts on marketing check out the links in the list below. In fact I greatly recommend you listen to that episode ... especially if you are a young or beginning farmer!

Links mentioned in this episode ...

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Project
• Crooked Gap Farm Class :: "How Do They Do That?"
• Permaculture Voices Podcast Episode 015 Show Notes
• Show Transcription of Joel Salatin's Interview

Interested in signing-up? Just shoot me an e-mail!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 035 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 034 :: I Don't Know How to Farm, Farm News, and a Hard Lesson Learned

While we were in the middle of the summer and I was busy mowing and raking hay, taking care of the farm, and doing the farmers market (as well as a few other odds and ends) I thought maybe things would slow down in the "off-season". Well, we are getting closer to the theoretical off-season and I have to say that I don't think things will be slowing down that much! I'm choosing to be encouraged by that though because on many levels it means that things are working ... and when they are working it means good work! On today's episode I spend a bit of time updating the various happenings on the farm which include both good and bad things ... which is life on the farm. But, I also wanted to take some time to answer a question that came in on e-mail from a young man with an interest in farming.

Last week I received an e-mail from Barrett who basically said, "I have wanted to farm since I was ten, but I don't know how to farm". That statement that I related to on so many levels that I just felt like I had to share some thoughts on the subject ... because there are plenty of times still where I think, "I want to farm, but I don't know how to farm"! My answer can simply be summed up by one word ... Apprenticeships! Knowing what I know now if I could go back to the time when I was 17 and getting ready to enter college there are a few "apprenticeships" that I would have included in my summers, weekends, and free-time in general. There are so many "hats" that a farmer wears each day and if you can go into your farming journey with at least a little experience in each of these "hats" then I think you have a leg up in the game!

Here are the apprenticeships I would consider ...

• A Farm - This is the obvious one, and it is very important. Work on a farm ... any farm ... even if they don't do everything how you would do it, because you will learn a lot!
• A Mechanics Shop - It doesn't matter if it's a tractor shop, a car shop, or a mower shop ... a background in mechanical things will help any beginning farmer.
• A Welding/Metalwork Shop - I don't know how to weld and this is one of the things I most wish I knew how to do ... it literally could save me thousands of dollars over the life of the farm.
• A Meat Processor - You may never have your own on-farm official processing facility, but the knowledge you gain can help you not only in your processing for your own use but also in marketing and working with customers.
• An Electrician/Carpenter/Construction in General - There is always something that needs to be built, plumbed, or wired on the farm. Having the knowledge on how to do it ... at least the basics ... will always help.

I'd love to hear your thoughts ... what apprenticeships would you recommend to a young beginning farmer?

Links mentioned in this episode ...

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Project
• Crooked Gap Farm Class :: "How Do They Do That?"
• BTU's of Firewood

Interested in signing-up? Just shoot me an e-mail!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 034 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 033 :: Preparing for Winter, Farrowing Updates, and a Hard Lesson Learned

This past Sunday when I walked outside to head to church I was mildly shocked to see my windshield covered with frost. Not that it was too early for a frost, but rather because it really hadn't been forecasted and I was still basically in summer mode mentally. That chilly reminder did quickly bring into clear focus though the reality that winter will be here before I know it ... and I don't have any wood cut/split/stacked! Besides making a big woodpile there are plenty of other things that need to be do to get the livestock and their winter quarters ready. I have been spending a lot of time the past few episodes talking about my plans for the hoop house (winter housing for the pigs), but there is still plenty to do for the chickens, guineas, cattle, sheep, and rabbits. On todays episode I'll share what my winter plans are for each species and then talk a little bit about the difficulties winter brings to the farm ... and even a positive or two that I can take away from the winter season!

Links mentioned in this episode ...

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Project
• Crooked Gap Farm Class :: "How Do They Do That?"
• Cobett Energy-Free Waterer

Interested in signing-up? Just shoot me an e-mail!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 033 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 032 :: A Crooked Gap Farm Class, The Farm Crawl Recap, and a Hard Lesson Learned

With the Farm Crawl behind us for this year we are very excited to announce our new farm event coming up on Saturday, November 2nd 2013 called "Crooked Gap Farm :: How Do They Do That?" Hosting an event like this is something that we have wanted to do for a long time, but no we finally feel that we are at a place in our farming lives that we have some great information to share and a lot to talk about on our farm. If you have ever wanted an in-depth tour of the farm, the chance to ask detailed questions about our farm enterprises, or wanted to see up close how various things on the farm work then this is the perfect event for you. This event will give you a "peek behind the curtain" at Crooked Gap Farm and we will take time to answer as many of your questions as we can to the best of our abilities. Check out all of the details below ...

Cost :: $65 ages 13 and up ... $20 ages 4-12 ... age 3 and under Free

What Will the Day Look Like?

• 9:00 Am until Noon -- Intensive farm tour of each of our enterprises
• Noon until 1:00 PM -- A Crooked Gap Farm lunch featuring our woodlot raised Hereford pork
• 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM -- A frank discussion of beginning a farm from scratch and balancing your family, that job in town, and of course your farm dreams
• 3:00 PM until 4:00 PM -- A look into Ethan's toolbox ... what books, articles, resources, people, websites, and more does he utilize in this farming journey
• 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM -- Your chance to ask that question that you've been dying to ask, or we can even head back out to the pastures and take a little closer look at certain things
• 6:00 PM to until we're done -- A Crooked Gap Farm Supper and lots of connecting and discussion around the tables

Interested in signing-up? Just shoot me an e-mail!

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 032 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records) 

TBF 031 :: Milking and Freezers and More, Farm Fun, and a Hard Lesson Learned

Micro-daries, cheese making, milking Dexter cows, and keeping our Crooked Gap Farm pork/chicken/beef/lamb frozen. Those are all topics on todays episode of The Beginning Farmer Show. Thanks to a great question from Scott in Minnesota I spend some time talking about why we aren't milking on the farm right now, and why it could possibly be an enterprise in the future. The biggest hang-up I have is the capital costs needed to do an enterprise involving milk or cheese for sale. Scott also gave me a great suggestion about using a walk-in freezer instead of our current set-up of a multitude of upright freezers. I think this is a great suggestion on many levels and I will be looking into it very closely this winter ... I hope!

Links Mentioned in This Episode

• Crooked Gap Farm Hoop House Website
• Bob-White Systems
• Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery (A Dexter Micro-Dairy)
• Farm Crawl

If you have an input on the topic be sure to leave a comment below or send us an e-mail.

As always, I want to thank you so much for listening and supporting the show with your encouragement and reviews on iTunes! I am continually working to produce a better show, and I'm thankful for all of the listeners sticking with me as I learn. If you do enjoy the show, don't forget that you can subscribe on iTunes and leave a five start rating and review (by clicking the link or the image on the right). If you are an Android phone user you can also subscribe on the free Stitcher App. It is so very encouraging to know that people are listening and enjoying the show!

I would love to hear your questions, show ideas, or comments about the show. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail! As always you can follow along with The Beginning Farmer and Crooked Gap Farm by checking out these links ... 

• Crooked Gap Farm
• Crooked Gap Farm on Facebook
• Crooked Gap Farm on Twitter

TBF Show 031 :: Play in a New Window | Right Click to Download

**Special Note :: A few users are experiencing issues downloading the show on iTunes. If you have any experience with podcasts and how they can play nicely with iTunes I would love some suggestions.**

(if you are interested in the music in this episode check out my brother's record label, Historic Records)